In this review, the investigators focused on studies that assessed whether sleep disturbances could predispose individuals to pain conditions. Insomnia was found to predispose patients to chronic pain or to contribute to the worsening of pain conditions, prompting the study authors to recommend that clinicians managing patients with chronic pain assess them for insomnia.

In studies examining the association between common sleep disturbances and chronic pain, some evidence was found linking short sleep duration, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and sleep bruxism to chronic pain. The small number of studies and limitations in study design prevented the researchers from defining the directionality of these associations.